Celeste

Some people are content to dream about what comes after. I've decided to live it. Thirty years of responsibilities, most of that time as a single mom. Two kids that turned out great. A mortgage just paid off. Retirement from a career that I didn't necessarily love, but one that I was really great at. So what is next for me? I honestly don't know. But so far it has been a hell of an adventure. Maybe we should share one of our own today. --Why are you doing this Celeste? that's a complicated question to answer. Some of it is just making up for lost time. I slept alone for more years than I care to remember. Some of it is curiosity and exploration. Frankly, I've learned more in the last three months about my own sexuality than in the entire three decades that came before. Some of it is honestly a fight against boredom. All my life I had a reason to climb out of bed and a place to be. A place where my opinions mattered; and while no one is truly indispensable, a place where I felt needed beyond just being a mom. Since our department was eliminated I've tried volunteering. I've tried taking up painting. I've tried all kinds of things. But each just seemed like more of the same. --But you don't seem like the type? You know what I've learned? That there is no "type". I've certainly met women who are in the hobby because of financial need. And isn't that a really shitty reason to do this? I've met women for whom adventure is their driving force. They seem to be having the most fun. I've even met a few women who have no idea why they are in this life. For them it's just something to do. --Are you in this for the long haul Celeste? Honest answer, who knows. Just like one day I woke up and decided to do this. One day I'm sure I'll wake up and decide that it's time to move on to something else. That day could be tomorrow. It could in six weeks from now. Or four months. I don't know when that day will come. But I'm sure I'll know it when it does. --OK, I have to ask...Celeste Rio Manchester? It's kind of unusual? Obviously, it's my nom de plume. But it's closer to the actual me than you might imagine. For example, the Rio, while not on my birth certificate, has been my nickname since the cradle. Back in the mid-60's my dad was in the foreign service and my mom was a teacher with a missionary group. They met in Brazil, fell in love with each other and with the place. They were at their happiest there I think. Hell, they conceived me there. My mom always called me her "little Rio baby". Over the years, it juts morphed into "Rio". So now you know a little secret about me. Tell me one about you.